Jamshedpur : Swine Flu took its toll in Jamshedpur first in Jharkhand after a 50-year-old woman and a 29-year old man died in two different hospitals at Jamshedpur late last night.
On Tuesday the throat swab reports arrived from the Kolkata-based National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases ( NICED) at the district surveillance confirming reasons for death. Moreover, three samples out of seven sent for confirmatory test have been tested positive for swine flu virus (H1N1).
The 50-year-old woman Sudha Joshi was a resident of Sundernagar admitted in Brahmananda Narayana Super Speciality Hospital at Tamolia and 29-year-old man, Jai Lal Jaiswal a resident of Purulia Road in Mango, admitted in CCU of Tata Main Hospital.
Both of them succumbed to the diseases last night. While the woman had been admitted on March 3 the man had been admitted on March 5. The third positive case is of a seven-year-old girl, M Trisha admitted in Tata Main Hospital. The girl, a resident of Sonari was discharged from the hospital last evening as she recovered.
East Singhbhum integrated diseases surveillance program (IDSP) officer, Sahir Pall said that only three swine flu positive cases came from the Kolkata-based institution all the remaining were negative including the one (seven-month boy) at Tata Main Hospital.
Steel city has been put on swine flu alert after fresh cases of swine flu resurfaced in the country. What has kept the East Singhbhum district health department on its toes is the timing of the outbreak especially with onset of spring season. To keep the deadly malady, which has already claimed more than 60 lives (till April) across country in 2012, the civil surgeon�s office has given important instructions.
�There has been swine flu positive case and even suspected cases in the district. We are pulling up our socks in order to meet any exigency, if at all, it arises. Our staff are trained in using PPEs for collection of throat swabs. It is mandatory for doctors and para-medics to use PPEs while treating patients with H1N1 viral strain,� said the health official.
In the year 2009 during the pandemic flu outbreak across the country, three suspected cases of swine flu were reported and had been sent for laboratory test. Only one youth had tested positive.
�We do not want to take any chances especially it being a vacation season with students and youths coming from different parts of the country to the state,� added an official.
All hospitals have been asked to inform the civil surgeon’s office if they receive any suspected case of swine flu, which is fortunately yet to hit the city. The civil surgeon has categorically directed Tatanagar Railway Hospital in Khasmahal to take extra care of patients admitted there with high fever because Jamshedpur boasts regular train services to the south and many passengers travel between the steel city and the two southern states.
According to experts drastic change in weather conditions and fast depleting forest cover may have let the virus that hitherto confined to wild animals, prey the human beings.
Unusual weather conditions seem to have triggered viral fevers on a large scale with scores of children and adult being admitted to the hospital with such complaints. With the onset of monsoon complaints of diarrhoea, cough, cold and fevers are common.
Moreover the unattended filth and garbage spread all over are some of the major reasons that have led to the breeding of mosquitoes.